Briefing: How much an officer gets to know a suspect usually depends on the severity of the incident. The more information I gather on a suspect, the better I get to know him or her.

Dispatch (Assignment): Read John 1:35-42.

On the Street: Have you ever been in love? I remember meeting my wife, Angie, and immediately wanting to get to know her. I wanted to know what made her laugh, what made her cry, and what would make her fall in love with me. As we started getting to know each other, I studied her and tried to learn her characteristics, her pet peeves, her goals and aspirations. She was very important to me, and still is. After knowing her for 25 years, I am still learning about her.

Andrew, one of John the Baptist’s disciples, had been told about Jesus. He, like most Jews, was waiting for the promised Messiah. He had been told by John that Jesus was the one that was prophesied about. The next time Andrew saw Jesus, John 1:38, Andrew does not just talk to Jesus, he asks Him, “where are you staying?” This was not just an invitation to sit down for coffee at a neutral location and asking Jesus about His ministry. Andrew wanted to know where Jesus lives, what He did, who He really was.

Think about it. When you meet someone for the first time are you more inclined to say, “let’s get together for lunch” or do you say, “where do you live, I want to come over”? Most of us would not be so bold as to invite ourselves over to a stranger’s house unless it was really important. To Andrew, getting to know Jesus was that important.

If you know Jesus, His response is what you expect, “Come,” He replied, “and you will see.” John 1:39 (NIV). We expect this from Jesus because we know His character. Andrew wants to know Him too. The rest of John 1:39 says, “So they went and saw where He was staying, and spent that day with Him. It was about the tenth hour.” The tenth hour was about 4:00 p.m. This tells me they spent several hours with Jesus.

Can you imagine getting to spend a couple of hours with Jesus? You could ask questions, listening to His responses and study His behaviors. Believe it or not, you can spend time with Him. You can get to know Him by reading His Word. You can find His response to your questions, study His behaviors and learn His characteristics.

Highlights from the Read: How good are your investigational skills? I have a challenge for you: see if you can identify the second disciple with Andrew.

Investigational Resources: God gives us a list of some of His characteristics in Exodus 34:6-7. For the other gospel accounts of this encounter, see Matthew 4:18-22, Mark 1:16-20, and Luke 5:2-11.

Officer Safety Principle: How much time have you invested in your relationship with Jesus? How well do you know Him?

from The Gospel of John Through the Eyes of a Cop
©by Charles Gilliland. Used by permission.
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